Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1887-04-12
A Card from Senator Lucas.


CnAK1EsTowN. W. VA. April 6. 1896.
To he Editor Of the Wheeling Register:
The Hon. Henry q. Davis has been. for some
years past in the habit Of giving his views In .
these views have not been. in the main. espe-
cially harmful, he has not been replied to by
those against whom his oracles were often
covertly directed The time has passed. how
ever. when this indulgence can be accorded to
Mr.. Davis without manifest injury to the best
interests of this State aud of the Democratic
party.
1 beg leave therefore, to present an answer
to his letter, published in your paper of the
3lst ultimo, and to ask. in the name of fair
play. that you publish it in the Register. The
greatest resources of wealth in West Virginia
are her large and valuable deposits of coal.
iron ore and timber" This assumption Is but
one illustration of the inveterate habit of Mr..
Davis and other monopolists of niistaking TIER
o1cn priudie interests for the interests of the
people of the State. Mr.. Davis own wealth is
dependent upon the enhancement of coal, iron
and timber and he consequently does not care
at whose expense and cost these values are ar
tihcially stimulated. call attention to the
fact that there are other interests which he en-
tircly ovcrlooks and which monopolists are
prone to overlook. First, there is the interests
Of agriculture. and. secondly. there is the in
tercsts of Labor. Are these any part of the
| resources" of West Virginia? The surplus
in the United States treasury for the past year
was in round numbers about ss3. 900 GOO and
| for the present year 1t Is estimated at Sl23.-
600 600.
This enormous surplus is the lowest estimate
| of the ouer-tdrdtion to which the agriculture
and labor of this nation is now subjected. Mr..
Davis and Mr.. Camden find their account in
keeping up this enormous burden. because they
believe that part of it goes into the profits of
their own private and corporate enterprises
What has Mr.. Camden ever said or done since
| he has been in the Senate to relieve labor and
| agriculture from the burden of this unequal
and excessive taxation? Upon this subject
| commend to Mr.. Davis tho calm, thoughtful
| language of salesman aad true Democrat,
the late Samuel j. Tildcn: .' Unequal Legisla-
ton. Monopolics and Exclusive Privileges of
every description not only lessen production.
but even alter the distribution of what is pro-
duced invariably to the injury of the laboring
| classes" Again Mr.. Tildcn says:
Now compare for Il moment thcsc taxes
with what we used to pay in 1850 and $780,
In 1860 our taxes. Federal and State. were
about 5154 .OOO. 900 all told. III 1880 they were
about SS3. 200 600. They have run up from
| that figure to enormous and APPALLING amounts,
and they bear heavily upon every mans in
come and upon every industry and every bus
| iness in the country. and year by year they are
destined to bear still more heavily unless we
! arrest the system that gives rise to them. II
was comparatively easy when values were
doubling under repeated issues of legal tender
paper money to pay out of the froth of our
| growing and apparent wealth these taxes but
| when values reccde and sink towards their nat
| ural scale the taX-gathcrer takes from us not
| only our income. not only 0nr profits but also
|
| system or all that has made this country great
and glorious. and all that has distinguished it
| from the empires of the old world in the henef-
| iccnt operation of our political and social sys-
| tenn upon the masses of the people and upon
the industrial millions. will have disappeared
and we shall remain in the history of mankind
to point a moral and adorn n tale"
General jackson was no less emphatic in his
denunciation of overtaXation. and said that
| there should be no surplus but that the money
should remain in the pockets of the people
where 1t belonged.
Thomas jefferson desired a Constitutional
| amendment to protect the people against the
| encroachment of monopoly and recommended
| a "wise and frugal government that should
not take from the mouth of labor the bread it
has earned"
What should jackson or jefferson have
thought of government that ovcrtaxed the
people tn the amount of S125. 000. 600 annually?
Yet the Camdcn-Davis policy is. to continue
this ovcrtaxation. So far as know. there are
no" Free-traders" in West Virgnia-certanly
I am not one-but do desire the doctrine of
the National Democratic Platform carried out
by a reduction of the surplus revenue.
Mr.. Davis farther tells us that we are in
dcbted to Mr.. Camden for the Long and Short
Haul Amendment to the Interstate Act.
should like to ask Mr.. Davis one or two qucs-
| tions which no doubt his acquaintance with the
| history of Congressional legislation will enable
him to answer. Did not the Reagan bill con-
vote against that bill {? Did he not prefer the
Cullon bill? Now that the Commissioners
have been appointed. NOT one OF whom resides
between the Ohio river and the Chesapeake
bay, will Mr.. Davis deny that the Reagan hill
| was in the interest of West Virginia and that
the present law will afford her very inefficient
| relief? Will he deny that he and Mr.. Camden
for the past fifteen years have persistently and
| unremittingly opposed every principle of the In
terstatc Commerce bill when we sought to ap-
ply them to our own State by appropriate leg
islation? Does he suppose that our people are
SO credulous and supplemented as not to rec
oguizc and remember that the very cry which
lie now raises, that ''capital is timid and eau
tons and will not go where legislation IL .un-
friendly" has been the plea whereby the Cam
dem Davis dynasty has defeated all legislation
intended to relieve agriculture. labor. manufac-
turcrs and commerce from the ruinous dscrm
nations practced by the trunk line railways
against the shippers of West Virginia? And
what has been the effect of this discrimination
thus encouraged and fostered by the Camden
Davis dynasty? beg leave to submit to the
people of this State. without regard to party. a
few facts in answer to this question. Mr.. Davis
| boasts that Mr.. Camden has brought two
three millions of dollars into the State which
have been invested in railroads and scattered
it among the people, not only developing the
State and its resources. but helping to pay the
| taxes" Is Mr.. Davis aware that notwith-
| standing this immense accession of wealth from
railroad enterprise. the unjust travel and
| freight tax imposed upon our people by the
| encouragement aud cOnnivaucc of the Camden
Davis dynasty diminished the real and aggrc
gate personal property of this State ten mil
lions of dollars in seven years. If Mr.. Davis is
ignorant of this fact. beg leave to call his at
tcntion to the following extract from the last
annual message of Governor Jackson as fol-
lows:
ain my last message called the attention of
the Legislature to the fact that taxable val
ues of this State have not increased in proper
ton to population. showing loss of $4,000 600
in the aggregate vulue of both kinds of prop
erty in seven years and this. too. whilst our
population is rapidly increasing aud of conse-
Qucnce adding largely to our wealth."
What becomes now of Mr.. Davis brilliant
but superficial laudation of Mr.. Camden and
| himself when he is confronted by the stubborn
fact that they have permitted the Standard Oil
Company and the railways to diminish
property Sl0.00.O00 in seven ycarsi For he it
remembered while our property decreased S10.-
000.O00 10 seven years the Standard Oil Com
pany. by reason alone of rail,r1V discrimination.
increased its wealth from $1,000. 600 to S3O.-
00O. 900 and in the next seven years went up to
a capitalized wealth of 9400. 100000 (see v. A.
Review for March. 1887. page 27S). These
| facts speak for themselves.
Mr.. Davis, i'll urging the election of cx-Sen-
| ator Camden maintains that - the majority of
abe Democrats i'll the Legislature must rule"
l should like to inquire how long since Mr..
Davis has become a convert to this doctrine?
Did he believe in it when i'll 1877 he aud his id
herents went into the Democratic caucus and
thus pledged themselves to abide by its decision
| and then broke it up. abandoned its delibcra-
| lions. denied its authority and appealed to the
Republicans to elect him U. S. Scnator? Cousis-
| tency is jewel which the Camdcn-Davis dy-
nasty does not seem to appreciate.
Finally. Mr.. Davis gives us the benefit Of his
"opiniOn" upon very important and some
what difficult question of Constitutional law.
I